


Lola

by deathwailart



Category: Original Work
Genre: Domestic, F/M, Puppies, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-13
Updated: 2012-10-13
Packaged: 2017-11-16 05:39:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/536097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathwailart/pseuds/deathwailart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of the same verse as <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/293638">Riding My Decisions Home</a> and <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/536094">Always Wear Expensive Shoes</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Lola

"I think," Allegra says as she stands next to Massimo who is busy chopping vegetables, "we should get a dog."  
  
"Yeah?" Massimo pauses in his work and smiles as he hands the carrots over to be added to the pan.  
  
"We had dogs when I was little; shiba inu's, retrievers and my mother had a couple of really small dogs and I'd like us to have one if we're thinking about a family."  
  
"I had dogs too. One of them - the one I got when I was ten - bit Bruno," he laughs even as Allegra digs her elbow into his ribs but she's giggling too. "I loved that dog."  
  
"Sergio right? He was still around when we got married wasn't he?"  
  
"Yeah, he died the day before we got back from our honeymoon."  
  
"We can't have a dog that big here," Allegra points out as she allows Massimo to add the final ingredients to the pan.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because Sergio was a Neapolitan Mastiff Massimo. They're huge dogs. And this apartment looks big when it's just us but we'd have to have somewhere for him or her to play and run around without knocking things over, somewhere for them to sleep, plenty of places for them to stretch out. And Sergio was a monster."  
  
"Okay fine, shiba inu?"  
  
"I was thinking of something even smaller." Allegra keeps stirring the contents of the pan, feigning innocence.

"Like what?" He eventually asks as he pours water into another pan to start cooking the pasta. "Not a tiny little fluffball."

"Oh God no. They yap constantly and they'd probably hump everything in sight."  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"I don't know, I haven't thought about it yet."  
  
"Right," Massimo replies in a tone that clearly implies you liar to the end of his statement.  
  
"Look," Allegra grabs his chin and tilts his head so he's facing her. "You love me and you trust me."  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
"So you know I won't pick a dog that's going to compromise your masculinity in any way." The look she gives him is challenging and he sighs before nodding. "Good! Now get the pasta in the pot and tell me if you think the sauce needs something."  
  
\---  
  
Massimo arrives home to an empty flat and a note from Allegra saying that she’ll be back by eight at the latest and that there are leftovers in the fridge and the freezer so he heats up the lasagne, grabs a beer and sits on the couch to watch TV, feet on the coffee table seeing as Allegra isn’t around to scold him. At seven thirty the front door opens and Allegra announces she’s home.  
  
Something barks.  
  
He gets up and steels himself, not sure if Allegra is bringing something home from a shelter or from a breeder, both having been considerations in the past three weeks worth of dog discussions. Whatever it is, it’s definitely a puppy that looks very overawed and Allegra quickly hands it over to him before dashing out to the car to bring in whatever else she’s picked up. Massimo holds the dog up to look over it – which lets him know that it’s a she – and is rewarded by another little bark and an attempt to lick his nose. He isn’t quite sure what breed it is; fluffy but not overly so and thankfully it lacks a squashed up face or bulging eyes. Allegra appears again with some bags and a fluffy dog bed tucked under one arm and grins at him.  
  
“Well?”  
  
“What is it?”  
  
“She” Allegra sets down the bags, “is a corgi.”  
  
“Oh.” He puts the dog down and crouches, holding out hands to be sniffed then licked before she wanders around the hall, sniffing and investigating. “Does she have a name?”  
  
“No, I thought we should both name her.”  
  
There’s a bark and Massimo picks up the puppy. “How about Lola hmm? Are you a Lola?” The puppy wiggles in his hands, barking excitededly. “Well?”  
  
“I definitely think she’s a Lola,” Allegra agrees, scratching Lola behind the ears. Massimo smiles and heads into the flat proper to give Lola a tour, letting Allegra put away the things – no doubt for the puppy – until she disappears into the bedroom, returning with camera aloft and a triumphant smile, promptly snapping away.  
  
It’s silly but New York is finally starting to feel like home, not some alien entity, hundreds of miles from everything he’s ever known and loved. He has Allegra who never fails to brighten his mood and now they’re a step closer to being a traditional family unit, something he’s looked forward to since they got married.  
  
That’s why he slips off the next day to buy a picture frame after printing off one of the photos of him, Allegra and Lola, sticking it up on the mantelpiece, right next to one of the photos of him and Allegra, alone on the steps of the cathedral on their wedding day.


End file.
